Here’s our fantasy premier league GW38 defenders article where we give our defender and Goalkeeper player rankings for GW38+. There’s a table of information and player suggestions to help you make a transfer choice. UPDATED for Clean Sheet odds.
fantasy premier league GW38 defenders – player rankings for Defenders and Goalkeepers – UPDATED for Clean Sheet Odds
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Avoiding the preamble
If you just want a quick transfer suggestion I’ve given these after the schedule if you want to skip all the preamble.
Stats definitions:
I’ve firstly ordered the teams by what I think is their defensive strength based their goals conceded, xG conceded and the shots per game conceded. You can see the rank of each stat mentioned above in the first 3 columns.
The stats after that are their:
My suggested defender for that team. I’ve tried to take into account what I think is an appropriate price for the team as well as their attacking and points potential. The table then shows their value and current 19/20 PPM
The likely starting GK for the team with the same price and PPM next to them
A bookies odds for a clean sheet for GW38+. The lower the better obviously. This will be updated
GW38+ fixtures
The Schedule – UPDATED for Clean Sheet odds
If you want access to copy and paste the schedule here’s the google spreadsheet link which I’ve set out differently if you want to sort different columns. Just go File> make a copy to get your own version
The teams are ranked by defensive strength only. Fixtures are not factored in.
Some GW38+ games to target
Man City v Norwich
Unfortunately it’s impossible to know who will lineup in the back 4 for Man City vs Norwich which seems a certain clean sheet. Ederson as GK is probably the closest thing to a certainty. £4.5m CB Garcia is the cheap low investment option but the problem also is it precludes investment in City’s attack for a game which could be any score
Newcastle v Liverpool
Both sides with nothing to play for. The 19th ranked attack in xG terms meets the 4th best defence in xGA terms. The only factor causing any uncertainty is the recent improvement in Newcastles attack and the seeming deterioration in the Liverpool defence. There’s also uncertainty in selection. Alexander Arnold is the premium option. Gomez could be the less investment option at £5.3m and £4.0m Neco Williams the Free Hit cheap option with some chance of playing.
Everton v Bournemouth
Bournemouth are fighting for their lives but this is still a case of the 17th best attack in xG terms vs the 7th best xG defence. There’s no Holgate as a cheap certainty due to injury so if you’ve got the cash £5.9m Digne is the best option. £4.0m Branthwaite should start but worth checking the lineup for the GW37+ fixture
C Palace v Spurs
Spurs can’t make the top 4 and I have to confess to being unsure what level the Europa League next season goes to. Palace are safe from relegation. It’s the 20th ranked xG attack side vs the 11th ranked xGA defence. Aurier gives the attacking option and probably the only option apart from the GK.
Burnley v Brighton
Burnley are top of the clean sheet table with Man City and Liverpool incredibly and seem to have the knack of getting clean sheets against sides lower in the table. Pope, Tarkowski and Pieters are the obvious targets. Brighton are the 13th ranked xG side so aren’t the worst but they are the type of team that are meat and drink to the Burnley defence
The clean sheet schedule
My schedule tries to focus on the stats that will lead to clean sheets rather than clean sheets themselves but I thought it would be worth while getting the clean sheet schedule from the premier league site
Goalkeeper save %
Here’s another schedule which shows you a goalkeeper save %. It’s not a ranking in itself as you can see there’s no correlation between % and clean sheets but does give you some idea of GKs who are good shot stoppers. It’s from the free stats site fbref.com
Other posts
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